"Strength At Altitude"
Not all of our adventures take place in the mountains...
It was in the 70s all week, and then the day we have tickets for the Rapids, the weather turns to freezing and it calls for a foot of snow. Not that we were entirely complaining, snow and soccer in mid-April is a great combination. We got to the game an hour early because we thought the roads were going to be bad...they weren't great, but because no one was out on the roads, we actually got to the stadium faster than usual. We delayed going in by watching half an episode of Kimmy Schmidt, and then braced the cold and the snow and headed inside. We immediately went to the team store knowing there wouldn't be a line and I was able to get the merch of the match, my obsession! We watched them plow the snow off the field, then found our seats (which we moved closer because no one was in our section). Our season tickets are already really good seats, but no one else was there so we moved right next to the supporters section. It's so great to be close and be part of that comradery and ruckus (if I looked confused on TV, it's because I was trying to figure out what they were saying).
You know it's cold when I'm actually DRINKING the coffee instead of just holding it.
This was Jermaine Jones' first game for the Rapids and he scored the first goal on our end of the field! But, one of my favorite parts of the night was the shovel crew. Anytime the play moved from their end of the field, they'd hop the fence and scrape the snow off the goal line, the six, and the 18. The supporters section chanted and sang about how much they loved them, even!
It was cold. Super cold.
At halftime I had to go buy another pair of socks because the two I had on just weren't cutting it. In the process of buying them, I lost one of my gloves. I retraced my steps and I couldn't find it anywhere, I was distraught! As a last resort, I asked a random security guard and he actually had it!!! It was soaked but I went into the bathroom and dried it with paper towels, and at that point even a wet glove was better than no glove. By the end of the game, it was warmer to have my gloves off (warm very relative, in this case), and I couldn't feel my toes despite 3 pairs of socks and waterproof boots. Logan thinks that's the coldest he's ever been, and I probably agree, but that was one of the coolest MLS games I've been to.
The Rapids ended up winning 2-1, meaning we're undefeated at home and second in standings for the Supporters Shield. Jermaine Jones had a goal and an assist. It was a good night for soccer, and definitely made freezing worth it.